When the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) scheduled a strike vote earlier this year, many viewed the move as another tactic orchestrated by the union to prevent Gov. Bruce Rauner from imposing his last, best offer.

Nearly one year after a self-appointed government watchdog group exposed the questionable campaign spending of Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino that launched state and federal investigations, Mautino’s response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit is confirmation that he broke state laws, the group claims.

Illinois’ General State Aid (GSA) funds K-12 education and was originally
intended to financially support school districts with the most
need. Through the years, however, the formulas used to calculate the amount
of state funding school districts receive has sparked outrage over the funding
system providing large subsidies to a few select districts, namely, Chicago
Public Schools.